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E-mail Xinhua, March 12, 2025
by Xinhua writer Guo Yage
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A high-stakes meeting held Tuesday between senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials resulted in Kiev okaying a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire plan and Washington consenting to lift its pause on military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
The meeting, which had been supposed to be short, started at midday Tuesday and stretched some eight hours into the evening before the two sides issued a joint statement that they agreed to "conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources."
While expectations had remained low for tangible outcomes from the meeting, the final joint statement revealed a sharp diplomatic shift of both sides almost two weeks after a rare row between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
SHARP DIPLOMATIC SHIFT
According to a statement by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry posted Tuesday on the social platform X, the meeting was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Notably, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who had planned to attend the meeting, was absent as he reportedly went to Qatar for Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations.
The Ukrainian delegation included Zelensky's Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and National Security Advisor Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Aiban also participated in the discussions.
Yermak wrote on X at the start of the meeting that it "began very constructively." He then posted a single line during the talks, "Work in progress." Also describing the meeting as "constructive," Sybiha wrote on X that Ukraine seeks peace "as no one else."
According to the joint statement, issued after the meeting on the website of the Ukrainian Presidency, the two delegations "took important steps toward restoring durable peace for Ukraine."
Ukraine signaled its readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for an "immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire," which could be extended by mutual agreement, said the statement, adding that "the United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace."
Washington has agreed to "immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine," the statement said, adding that both sides discussed the importance of humanitarian relief efforts, particularly during the ceasefire period.
Negotiators also agreed to appoint teams to begin talks aimed at achieving a lasting peace. The United States reaffirmed its commitment to engaging with Russian representatives while Ukraine emphasized the need for European partners to be involved in the process, the statement said.
The talks in the Saudi port city came almost two weeks after Trump and Zelensky were embroiled in a rare shouting match, which led to the cancellation of an anticipated bilateral materials deal, and subsequently the suspension of U.S. military assistance to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Following the White House sparring, Zelensky has repeatedly voiced Ukraine's "constructive" position and its readiness to enter peace negotiations without delay.
"BALL IN RUSSIA'S COURT"
Ukraine's consent to the 30-day ceasefire plan received an immediate welcome from Ukrainian, U.S. and European leaders.
Meanwhile, the relevant parties said they are now waiting for Russia's next move concerning the ceasefire plan, turning the global gaze on the Kremlin.
"The discussion lasted most of the day and was good and constructive -- our teams were able to discuss many important details," Zelensky said on X following the Jeddah meeting.
The Ukrainian side has proposed three key points, notably silence in the skies -- a ban on missile and drone strikes, silence at sea, and "confidence-building measures" aimed at releasing captives and returning Ukrainian children from Russia, Zelensky said. "If Russia agrees, the ceasefire will take effect immediately."
Following the meeting, Rubio told reporters in Jeddah that the U.S. side hopes Russia will "say yes to peace," and that the "ball is now in their court."
According to the AFP, when asked by a reporter about the prospects of a total ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump said he hopes "it will be over the next few days."
"I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow and some great conversations hopefully will ensue," he said, indicating that he will likely speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week and that Zelensky will be invited back to Washington.
Although Trump did not mention who will be involved in the "big meeting," several media reports suggested it could be one between Witkoff and Putin.
Any agreement on the Ukraine conflict must be on Russian terms, not American ones, said Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, RIA Novosti quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that she did not rule out contacts with U.S. representatives within the next few days.
Zakharova's remarks followed Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's comments earlier on Tuesday that Moscow expects Washington to inform it about the U.S.-Ukraine talks, and that there should not be premature celebration.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that the EU welcomes the U.S.-Ukraine talks in Jeddah, including the proposal for a ceasefire and the resumption of U.S. intelligence sharing and security assistance.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on European and NATO military chiefs to draw up a plan "to define credible security guarantees" for Ukraine as peace negotiations gained pace.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have also welcomed the joint statement.
In a statement on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, host of the latest meeting and the U.S.-Russia Riyadh talks in mid-February, said, "Dialogue is seen as the most effective way to resolve disputes and bring viewpoints closer together, which contributes to consolidating international security and stability."
PEACE STILL UNCERTAIN
Despite the progress in negotiations, it is still too early to perform a "hooray dance," especially at a time when fighting on the battlefield remains intense.
Hours before the meeting, Ukraine launched the largest drone attack against Russia in 2025, the TASS news agency reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on its Telegram channel that the country's air defense systems downed 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, whereas the Russian Foreign Ministry vowed later on Tuesday that all those involved and responsible for the attacks "will be punished."
On Friday, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on Facebook that Russia launched another large-scale attack on its energy system overnight.
On Sunday, Russia said its forces had regained control of three settlements in the Kursk region. A day later, the region's acting governor said four people were killed in a Ukrainian shelling attack on a shopping center in the village of Belaya.
"Until Tuesday's discussions between U.S. and Ukrainian delegations bore fruit, the battlefield dynamics did not appear to favour a ceasefire," said the Guardian, a British daily, in an analysis published following the Jeddah meeting.
Noting "a dizzying turnaround in U.S.-Ukraine relations," the analysis said, "An open question, perhaps, is whether peacekeepers could enter Ukraine during a ceasefire period, but this is speculative."
As experts have observed, the U.S.-Ukraine disagreement on the terms of the ceasefire, U.S.-Russia relations, as well as Europe's position on Ukraine, will all shape the future development of the crisis.
Ukraine and the United States do not share the same idea of "ceasefire," Ukrainian political experts Igor Chalenko and Volodymyr Fesenko told local media Tuesday, noting that Ukraine is trying to balance between satisfying U.S. needs and protecting its national interests.
On Feb. 18, senior U.S. and Russian officials had the first face-to-face interaction since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, and agreed in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh to work toward ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict and restoring bilateral relations.
However, on March 4, Peskov said that Russia-U.S. talks on Ukraine are unlikely to begin before the full restoration of diplomatic missions in both countries.
Three days later, Trump said he is "strongly considering" imposing large-scale sanctions on Russia until a ceasefire and peace agreement is reached with Ukraine.
Europe, sidelined from both the just-concluded Jeddah meeting and the previous U.S.-Russia Riyadh talks, held a forum in Paris on Tuesday to discuss what security guarantees could be provided to Ukraine.
The gathering came a week after EU leaders greenlighted plans to enhance the bloc's defense capabilities and reaffirmed their support for Ukraine.
As the United States is increasingly bypassing the EU to engage directly with Russia, this approach is diminishing Europe's influence over the Ukraine issue, compelling the EU to recalibrate its strategy toward Russia, observers have said. Enditem
(Wang Haizhou and Luo Chen from Riyadh, Li Dongxu from Kiev, Gao Shan from Los Angeles, Wang Qiang from Doha and Ma Xiaocheng from Cairo also contributed to the story.)
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